Admirer Of The Night @admirerofthenight-blog - Tumblr Blog

the funny thing about being a linguistics major is that basically nobody knows what you do unless you explain it to them, so every time you mention your homework to an acquaintance it turns into a whole thing

example 1

a CS major: sorry i cant come i need to finish my problem set

their non-CS pal: oh ok i feel that

example 2

a linguistics major: sorry i cant come i need to finish my problem set

non-ling friend: your…??

ling major: problem set

non-ling friend: but arent you… dont you study linguistics??

ling major: yes?

non-ling friend: what class is this for?

ling major: phonology

non-ling friend: what is that

ling major: it’s a linguistics class

non-ling friend: wait, linguistics has problem sets?? like what do you even do on a linguistics problem set?

the ling major now has to explain linguistics problem sets, a process which probably requires introducing the friend to like 3 new language-related concepts!

don’t get me wrong, i love my field and i love explaining it to people. but sometimes it’s like, how are you in college and barely know what linguistics is…?

darinharrfath-deactivated202210

I like that “I’m gonna teach you some manners” could either mean: Someone’s about to educate you on formal dining etiquette or someone’s about to kick your ass.

rosie-the-rascal

One of my co-workers thought that Linguistics was the study of pasta and I’ve never been at such a loss for words

that-s-not-it-deactivated201907

me: *hates to talk to people* also me: *is learning as many languages as I possibly can, so that I can communicate with more people!*

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A linguistics major walks into a bar

“Can I get əəəəəə……. “

spanishahora

Did I do a thing

runawaymarbles

Linguistic thought of the day

native English speakers don’t tend to say “yes.”

My clients are about 50/50 native and non-native English speakers, and non-native English speakers are pretty much the only ones who say “yes” when I ask them a question.

Native English speakers almost always say “yeah” or “sure”, unless it’s for emphasis. (“Is now a good time?” “Sure” vs “Is this your first baby?” “Yes he is!!”)

colleenrants

roseteawriting

I love you. 我愛你。The character for love, 愛, is a phono-semantic compound; from top to bottom, it’s made of a part that denotes sound, a part that denotes meaning, and a third, meaningless component added some point later in time. The semantic component is 心, or heart, but in Chinese, the meaning is never that simple. 心 means heart, yes, but it also means mind, thoughts, intention, and core. So when you say 我愛你, you are saying I love you with all my heart, with my every thought and every intention, with every decision my mind makes, with the very center and core of my being.

hedgehogsofasgard

My language (Dutch) uses a lot of compounds, aka mash words together to make a new word. These words are not written in their separate parts but as an actual single, new word (this is rare in English but happens sometimes, with “starfish” for example). In Dutch, you can put together as many words as you want to form a new one. This means we have ended up with some ridiculous names for animals. Some of my favourites are (in their literal translations to English):

Seadog (seal) (zeehond)

Trunkdoggie (black and rufus elephant shrew) (slurfhondje)

Firmbird (ostrich) (struisvogel)

Wingmouse (bat) (vleermuis)

Birdbeakanimal (platypus) (vogelbekdier)

Anthedgehog (echidna) (mierenegel)

Skinflyer (Colugo) (huidvlieger)

Parrotdiver (puffin) (papegaaiduiker)

Smellyanimal (or stinkanimal: skunk) (stinkdier)

Lazyhorse (leopard) (luipaard) (this one actually comes from French lupard which in turn comes from Latin leopardus, but it still sounds funny)

Shieldtoad (tortoise/turtle. Just add sea, water or land to specify) (schildpad)

And some names that actually found their way into the English language: aardvark (earthpig), boomslang (treesnake) and aardwolf (earthwolf).